Cryptomnesia
By SMYGO4EVA
We all try to hide our fears. We all try to find our flaws, our weaknesses, anything that would be used against us in the cold and bitter world. Anything that would be of any jeopardy to loved one should be forgotten, just forget everything that had happened in the past. It would be wonderful to never see what reminders were left behind so they would remind us of what we lost. That's not possible, though.
Orihime Inoue saw that Ichigo was with Rukia, the dark and mysterious Soul Reaper who was nearly sacrificed to the merciless gods for what she did. Ichigo was the closest thing to the Soul Society, as he was a Shinigami representative and she was one of the mystic and spiritually aware of the group. The fact that she had lost him, to the unknown, was the most daunting. What hurt most of all was that he found someone who wasn't really her, who wasn't the classmate who knew him most of his life. Rukia was a dear friend, but now Orihime knew that day by day, she would lose him forever.
Renji Abarai knew Rukia all his life, even to the point where he knew too much about her. He was very protective about her, and as time grew, he grew to even love her. It hurt him when he had to bring her back to the Soul Society, to sentence her to death, for only trying to help. In contrast to their beautiful friendship, death would be as blood red and bloodstained as the depths of Hell. He saw that she was with Ichigo now, and he felt his heart sink away.
They wish they could erase everything that led up to their own mistakes, sleeping together in either spite or solace and end up somewhere in between. Due to broken hearts, they wish to recollect what would have become if things were different. Renji and Orihime wondered what led to it, living in a twisted lie and ending up in cryptomnesia, recollecting and using it to good use. In time, they grew to love each as well, their worries disappearing. However, they wouldn't forget when imagination became reality and memories were of great importance.